Lincoln the Litigator

Lincoln the Litigator. On this site stood the Third LaSalle County Courthouse. Actually the second courthouse to be erected at this location, the Third LaSalle County Courthouse was completed in the latter part of 1841. It was a two-story brick structure, with imposing columns at the south end and a cupola capped by a weather vane. It was a grand improvement over the earlier courthouse structures made of logs. The Third LaSalle County Courthouse was the scene of much social as well as legal activity. The Illinois State Constitution of 1848 established three grand divisions of the Illinois Supreme Court, and the Northern Division was to be located at Ottawa. As there was no building provided for this use, the Supreme Court held its sessions at the LaSalle County Courthouse when it convened. This arrangement continued until the erection of a separate Supreme Court building, which was not completed until 1860. . . Built during the height of the canal period, the LaSalle County Courthouse is an expression of the era. Abraham Lincoln practiced law at this courthouse in his day as a frontier lawyer. The Greek Revival Building was destroyed in the Great Ottawa Fire of 1881 and replaced with the present courthouse. This illustration is from the 1948 I&M Canal Centennial project. Caption reprinted from Canal Town by Larry Natta, Ottawa Visitors Center, Inc. . . (sidebar) . It is known that Abraham Lincoln of the then established partnership of Lincoln and Herndon argued a case before the Supreme Court in Ottawa, beginning June 11, 1851, and lasting for six days. On December 3, 1852, Lincoln again arrived in Ottawa as an Illinois-Michigan Canal Commissioner to hear claims against the construction of the canal. For four days the commissioners occupied the office of the sheriff in the courthouse, carrying out his duty. Abraham Lincoln's final appearance at the old courthouse took place the night of the first Lincoln-Douglas Debate, August 21, 1858, when a rally organized by prominent local Republicans was held within its halls. The Third Courthouse was demolished in 1881 to make room for the imposing structure that stands here today.